Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Synopsis: Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.

With the future of Orléans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.Review: The Belles was a wild ride. The synopsis and the cover might make it seem like a fluffy book about beauty, but that's far from the truth. To start, Camellia is a fantastic character. She's easy to relate to, but obviously very flawed. She has this issue with following the rules in ways that might not get her into immediate trouble, but it impacts her later. Camellia's ability to see a person's natural beauty was touching. Remy (sorry, I know I'm missing the accent mark) and Auguste were both fun to read. I enjoyed every interaction they had with Camellia. The relationship Camellia had with her sisters was great. There was a bit of jealousy in there, but they love each other so much and, when one of them is hurting, they all hurt. It's a connectivity you don't see in many other books.

The story itself was amazing. I enjoyed every second if it. From the time the Belles displayed their power to the queen, to the very last page, I didn't want to put this book down. The world was interesting to explore and I liked learning about the Belles and their powers. I usually have a general distrust of all characters when I read a book, but I wanted almost everyone in The Belles to be good and to make it out. There was so much court intrigue in The Belles. That's normally a hit or miss for me, but I never got bored reading about court life and seeing Camellia in her day-to-day activities. Dhonielle even put a bit of a mystery in this novel as well which I found very impressive. This book is the complete package when it comes to a starting fantasy.

Beautiful book with amazing characters. It will have you on the edge of your seat.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Synopsis: I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance. Review: This is one of those books that I've had for awhile, but I've been putting it off. I knew it was going to be a tough one for me to get through. First off, I really enjoyed Auggie. I appreciated how self-aware he was. He knew that people were making fun of him or staring at him, and he was honest with himself. I thought this was great and I related to it a lot. I'm not pretty. I don't have facial defects like Auggie, but I'm not what society sees as attractive. That's fine. I've known that my entire life. Similar to Auggie, I've had people try to sugarcoat growing up. "You're not ugly" or "It's what's inside that counts" were very common phrases. Auggie puts up with this too. Maybe it's because of our similar pasts, but I found him surprisingly easy to relate to. He also made me think a lot of a kid I grew up with who had his legs smashed when he was young, so he always had to walk with leg braces. He ended up being one of the most kind, smart kids I ever had the pleasure of knowing.

The story was cute. I don't know why, but I was expecting it to be a sad book.I'm a bit torn on how I feel about the shifting of perspectives. It gives us a more rounded view of Auggie's life, and it showed us how loved this kid is. At the same time, none of the perspectives felt really unique except for Auggie's. Maybe it's because some of the sections were really short so we didn't get to spend a whole lot of time in some of the characters' heads. It was still interesting though. I'm glad the story wasn't sad. There was a fair amount of bullying, but none of it felt overwhelming. As someone who was bullied a lot growing up, my heart went out to Auggie. He was a strong character and it was a joy to read. There were some sad bits in the story, but overall the book was heartwarming.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Synopsis: Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator's daughter, Sidonia. There's no one Nemesis wouldn't kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.She must become her.Now one of the galaxy's most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she's been told she doesn't have - humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her, Sidonia and the entire Empire...

Review: First off, this book is definitely more politic heavy and character driven than plot driven. So, if that isn't your speed, then this might be a book to skip. As a whole, the characters were interesting. I didn't really trust anyone while reading this book. One thing I enjoyed was how it opened up the discussion of humanity, and how Nemesis showed more emotion and care than some of the other characters. I found that interesting. In the world we live in now, humans can be pretty despicable. I like seeing how other people depict human nature in books. The story itself hinges on Nemesis going to the galactic court in place of Sidonia. I gotta say, this whole "character A acts like character B" trope is a peeve of mine. In large part because I never felt like we got to know Sidonia as a character on her own. It was always Nemesis' view of Sidonia which is naturally going to lean more favorably towards Sidonia.

As far as the story goes, it's a pretty light sci-fi book. I could see this being a good way of easing someone into the sci-fi genre. There isn't much in the way of world-building and, like I said, it focuses much more on the politics of the world and the relationships. There is heavy talk of religion versus science which I know some people are not a fan of. One really nice thing is that this book reads as a stand alone. There is another book after this one, but The Diabolic tells a complete story on its own.

Quick intro to sci-fi with possibilities for interesting discussion about humanity and religion.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.Review: I'm a sucker for fairy tales, and I wanted to love this book. The characters were the biggest downfall for me. Alice was pretty unremarkable. Finch had the potential to be a favorite character. I appreciated how he was a bit of a nerd and really into the stories from the Hinterland. Still, something about his character rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not going to say too much because I don't want to spoil what happens later, but it's one of those things I saw coming. There wasn't much else in the way of side characters. The story focused on Alice and Finch, but neither of them felt terribly fleshed out. There also wasn't much said about Finch's background. We know that he's black, but that's about it and it's honestly hard to remember that fact throughout the book because he acts more like white people I've been around than black people. There was another scene that led to a potential f/f relationship in the past, but it was never really explored past a slight mention. It seemed like there were little teasers of diversity, but nothing fully discussed which was a bummer.

The story was engaging, and creepy. I thought that was rather well done. The mystery of the Tales from the Hinterlands kept me intrigued, and I found myself reading this entire book in a single sitting. We do get an idea of what some of these stories contained, but it was done in a weird way. Alice wants to read these stories to see if there's some kind of clue to help her find her mom, but there doesn't seem to be any way for her to access them. This leaves it up to Finch, super fan, to convey some of the stories to her. I wish Melissa would have played with this idea a little more, how Alice never reads the text of the stories herself. She always hears second-hand summaries of the stories from Finch. Maybe it's because I didn't trust Finch, but it could have made for some really interesting conflicts if Alice realized she might not be able to trust everything Finch says.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Synopsis: He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior...The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he'd worked so hard to overcome, and the future she'd put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth - and find the unexpected power of love.

A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.Review: New Adult is a fun genre when you want something a little mindless to read. Easy was a fun read, but it was also impactful. The story starts with a bang as Jacqueline becomes the victim of an attempted rape. She is saved by Lucas who happens to be in one of her classes. I have to say, Lucas and Jacqueline were pretty generic. I did appreciate how Jacqueline kept correcting people when they would use her old nickname. That's something I have had to deal with too, and it's hard to keep your past behind you when people keep bringing up little parts of it. I thought the romance between the two was cute, but predictable. I really enjoyed Lucas though. His ability to pay attention to detail was a kindness I have experienced from a good friend of mine. That warmed my soul a little.

Where this book really stands out is the story. First off, for a NA book, there isn't a huge focus on sex. Jacqueline's almost rape and how she manages afterwards is a big factor but, even with side characters who are actively having sex, it isn't something we have to deal with on the page. Sometimes I think the NA genre is too focused on making their characters having sex and there isn't much more to the story. I was grateful this book did something a little different. I'm glad the book didn't just focus on Jacqueline's story, and other girls and their experiences became a big part too. As a whole, it does a good job of approaching rape culture on a college campus which I appreciated. I will say that my biggest gripe is definitely a personal one. I can't imagine what kind of school these kids go to. Maybe it's because I've been working at a university for 6 years now, but I can't imagine Lucas rolling up to a dorm on a motorcycle. We have too many people and not enough space for that kind of nonsense.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Synopsis: There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.Review: Oh man, I'm so excited I got to read this book finally. I enjoyed reading Kate and August's perspectives. They were both done quite well considering one was supposed to be a monstrous human and the other was a humane monster. Kate's growth was my favorite. She tries to be a rough and tough human who can go toe to toe with ruthless monsters. That being said, she stumbles and second guesses herself and her motivations. August was interesting too. He tried so hard to fit in with humans but, in the end, he realized that was impossible and he needed to be true to himself. There were some interesting side characters as well. I liked how different Leo and Ilsa were to August. The monsters didn't feel like carbon copies of one another. I wish we were able to spend a bit more time with Henry, Emily, Harker, and Sloan. We got to know them a fair amount, but something seemed a little lacking. I also wish there was a little more to Kate and August. It's hard to explain, but I feel like their characters could have had a little bit more to them.

The story was surprisingly fast. It wasn't really filled with action or intrigue, but I still managed to fly through this story. The world felt fairly fleshed out considering the entire book took place in a single city. I will say, I didn't quite buy the backstories behind the monsters. Sunai, the kind of monster August is, are apparently incredibly rare and only made during events of extreme tragedy. There are only 3 in the world, August, Ilsa, and Leo. I won't say what specifically caused August, Ilsa, and Leo to exist, because I found them interesting myself. I just have a hard time believing that there were only 3 major tragedies of that scale in this world. Maybe it's because I'm used to seeing awful things of this nature regularly. It would be interesting if more Sunai start popping up in the second book, but we'll see.

This was an great, quick read. An awesome start to what I'm sure will be a wonderful series.

Monday, February 5, 2018

Synopsis: A trio of friends from New York City find themselves trapped inside a mechanical board game that they must dismantle in order to save themselves and generations of other children in this action-packed debut that’s a steampunk Jumanji with a Middle Eastern flair.When twelve-year-old Farah and her two best friends get sucked into a mechanical board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand—a puzzle game akin to a large Rubik’s cube—they know it’s up to them to defeat the game’s diabolical architect in order to save themselves and those who are trapped inside, including her baby brother Ahmed. But first they have to figure out how.

Under the tutelage of a lizard guide named Henrietta Peel and an aeronaut Vijay, the Farah and her friends battle camel spiders, red scorpions, grease monkeys, and sand cats as they prepare to face off with the maniacal Lord Amari, the man behind the machine. Can they defeat Amari at his own game…or will they, like the children who came before them, become cogs in the machine?Review: I loved this book. I loved it so much. Farah was such a great character. She was strong and she definitely got annoyed by her brother sometimes, but she also deeply loved him. From the first chapter, you could tell that she would do anything for him. Alex and Essie were also fun to read, and they got a fair amount of page time. Karuna clearly tried her best to give every character their own growth and adventure. Ahmed was adorable, and true to the little brother characterization. Like I said, Farah would do anything for him and she definitely showed that. Every character was incredibly fun to read.

The story was great. If you've seen Jumanji, then you get the idea of what this book is about. That being said, Karuna took the Jumanji story and wove a Middle-eastern atmosphere into it. The details were incredible. It wasn't too much to drag the story, but I still got a sense of what the food might have tasted like and what the setting would have looked like. There were some technical aspects of the writing that bothered me a bit, but it didn't deter from my enjoyment of the story. The puzzles in the book were not difficult, but it worked well with the story because of how much Farah and her family played games together.

Very impressive for a debut. I had an incredible amount of fun reading The Gauntlet and I can't wait for the next adventure.

About Me

*waves* My name is Kim and I am a bookaholic. *pause* Okay yeah really I read a lot of books so I set this up to try to review as many as I can. I'll also do video games and movies if I'm bored and want to review something.